If those who choose to have books, groceries, or anything else delivered to their homes are willing to pay the entire cost for this added service then I have no argument with such a plan. My complaint, and I think it is a valid one, consists with the involuntary participation of people who do not wish to participate in such a plan being forced to under duress ... I consider this a form of extortion.ianbuchanan wrote: ↑08 May 2018, 16:40
Thank you very much for sharing your opinions and concerns! I hear them loud and clear. Before I address some of the topics you bring up here, I will say that the original idea has shifted from one that charges the end reader to a model that works alongside and on behalf of libraries to be the book delivery service provider. As a result, books would remain free to library members, whether they are delivered or not. Of course, this requires, if this idea is to be turned into a business, for libraries themselves to pay the company directly, as compensation for the value-added service it would provide to their members. While this would require a likely increase in funding to accomplish long-term, ample research has shown that increased usage of libraries, a pattern this idea would almost certainly create, results in increased public funding being directed to public libraries, which would optimally benefit libraries and the delivery service-providing company who generates revenue from these publicly funded libraries. If increased taxes to fund such a program would result, which is not or ever will be a goal, I think, any initiative that benefits community members, in this case granting wider-spread access to books, would we generally well received. Of course, taxes are taxes, and they are rarely taken lightly, which is why raising taxes to fund the service is not desired nor is it part of the idea.
To touch on your sentiment towards laziness and its increasing prevalence among consumers...I agree, as a character trait, it is deplorable. However, today, with time being of such importance, why not save it whenever possible. Wouldn't you rather enjoy your time with family or experiences than traveling to the library? I would strongly hesitate to even really consider a preference for delivery over in-store shopping lazy at all. We all want to save time, so why not do it when we can? It's the only thing in life we cannot get more of so we must protect it when the opportunity arises.
Please let me know what you think about my comments, I'm very interested in continuing a discussion and appreciate your insights very much. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Any increase in taxes for a library delivery service would normally be obtained as a result of a voter bond issue. If the citizens in my community would vote for such a service who am I to say ney? Frankly, I have a truly excellent library system where I live and I would be among the first to help support it, but I feel that a delivery service is not something important enough to warrant an increase in taxes or other costs to ALL library patrons. If people need more time for their families as you suggest in your reply I would suggest that they contract with a courier service to pick up library materials to be delivered to their homes and pay the cost for delivery themselves. I do not feel that I should have to pay for augmenting their allowance of valuable time. It is a personal issue which involves their own personal issues and convenience, not mine.